Ice Block

Majorly increases Decor, contributing to Morale.
Must be sculpted by a Duplicant.

Research

Artistic Expression

Dimensions

2×2 tiles

Category

Furniture

Type

Artwork

Decor

+35 (Radius: 8 tiles)

Materials

Ice

400 kg

Ice Block is a decorative building in the Furniture category that provides a Decor bonus to its surroundings and can be sculpted to provide a further bonus. The quality of the sculpture influences this bonus with higher quality sculptures from highly skilled artistic Duplicants producing the best Decor bonuses.

Ice Blocks will melt if not kept cold. They are most efficient in low-temperature, high-traffic areas; since they are twice as wide as other similar sculptures (e.g. Metal Block), they are a less space-efficient Decor provider than most.

There is 1 kind of crude and 3 kinds of quaint sculptures; 2 of the quaint sculptures are locked behind Blueprints.

Notes

As opposed to other types of Artwork, there are no masterpiece-quality type Ice Block sculptures. Thus, the Masterworks skill is not necessary to create ice blocks with the greatest possible decor bonus.

Tips

Ice sculptures melt above -0.6 °C / 30.92 °F, so they're only useful as a constant source of decor in subzero temperatures or in space, as long as they're protected from the heat of comets, regolith and rockets.
Two Large Sculpting Blocks provide as much decor as a single Ice Block, although they cost twice as much in total and have a slightly diminished range owing to their size (1x3 tiles).
- Similarly, two Metal Blocks provide twice as much decor as a single Ice Block (or even more, depending on the materials used).
- Since Ice Blocks lack any masterworks, their skill-dictated decor bonus caps at a lower amount (+10) than other artwork types (+15 for masterworks). This makes Ice Blocks even less efficient of a decor provider in comparison.
Building Ice Blocks on Mesh top of the colony's supply of cold fresh water is a good way to make it last a bit longer, absorb quite a bit of ambient heat, and train artists without needing to deconstruct the statues. Liquid and any gases with high thermal conductivity will exchange heat with the ice block more quickly in case one intends to turn it into cold water.
Ice Blocks cannot be placed in Sandbox Mode without instantly melting, since it places all buildings at 20 °C / 68 °F, but when in Debug Mode the building can be cooled down to subzero temperatures if the game is paused.